May 12, 2009

Asperger responds to Tribune story on FOIA denial

Village President Elizabeth Asperger Monday night labeled as
"irresponsible" and "a disservice" a front-page story in
the May 3 edition of the Chicago Tribune
that highlighted an incident last summer in which village officials refused to
make public documents related to its decision to give $1 million in tax increment financing (TIF) funds
to help renovate the La Grange Theatre.

Asperger's remarks were contained in a letter to the newspaper's editor that
she read during Monday's regular session of the village board of trustees.

While Asperger said she applauded the Tribune's
effort to "focus a spotlight upon legislative directives regarding the
public's right to information and records," she said La Grange officials
were unfairly portrayed as poster children for reforms the newspaper said are
needed to toughen the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Tribune reporter David Kidwell,
Asperger said, "didn't do his homework before suggesting that [village
officials] inappropriately thwarted the public's right to information regarding
the [village board's] decision to invest in a public-private partnership to
renovate the La Grange Theatre.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Asperger said.

Asperger noted that "hundreds of hours" have been spent in public
forums discussing facets of the various projects the village has funded with TIF dollars. In addition to the La Grange Theatre, she cited the
redevelopment of the "triangle property" along La Grange Rd between
Ogden Ave and the BNSF rail line, and the public parking garage behind Village Hall, among other projects.

"However, there are occasions when the best interests of the community are
served by allowing its elected officials to confidentially consider a proposal,
review proprietary financial information or discuss preliminary recommendations
regarding sensitive matter," Asperger said.

Asperger cited support for her position from Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan, who was quoted by Kidwell in his May 3 report as believing it
appropriate for officials to keep secret "preliminary drafts, notes,
recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed,
or policies or actions are formulated."

What Asperger did not note, however, is that the documents village officials
refused to release last summer in response to a FOIA request from Thom Rae,
publisher of LaGrangeToday.com,
included several that Asperger herself had specifically mentioned in a May 19, 2008
public workshop and which she had encouraged trustees to openly discuss.

Rae told the Tribune that he only
knew to request the documents because they had been so clearly and publicly
identified by Asperger.

Among the FOIA reforms being proposed is one that would forbid officials from
withholding any documents that have been included on a public agenda, according
to Terry Pastika, executive director of the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst.